


Stars in the Snow

by FaeriexQueen



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Birthday Presents, Canon Compliant, Christmas Presents, Circus, Gen, Pre-Canon, Surprises, mentions of animal death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21926185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeriexQueen/pseuds/FaeriexQueen
Summary: For Red, Christmas wasn’t usually a special day. Not until Mana changed that.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Stars in the Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the DGM Secret Santa 2019 event. :3

It was cold, and there was snow falling outside.  
  
Red shivered. The air was icy as it sharply cut against his skin. The snow softly crunched beneath his feet, the upper layer iced over only to reveal deep, powdery white beneath. It sparkled in the darkness, pristine and unblemished as it blanketed the earth.  
  
Red hated it.  
  
The boy gritted his teeth, as he tried to pull the cart behind him. “Stupid, damn _snow_ ,” Red cursed, as he strained to tug the cart along. It was leaden with several big boxes – a shipment of supplies for the circus troupe, though Red couldn’t say what was inside. Whatever it was, it was heavy. It was heavy and it _dragged_ in that snow.  
  
Exhaling, Red turned back to the cart. He glared at it before he finally stalked around to the back of it. His walking was clumsy, the snow rising to his ankles and making it difficult to walk. Some snow got into his shoes, causing an icy discomfort to befall Red.  
  
Ignoring this, Red looked at the cart. He glared at it, patience worn before he finally began to try shoving the cart forward, throwing all of his weight into it. A small grunt escaped him, as he shoved himself against the cart – but it refused to move any farther.  
  
“Come _on_ ,” Red hissed, as he tried to push the cart. He didn’t have that far to go – the storage tent was only a short distance away.   
  
Sucking in a breath, Red tried to shove one more time. “Just _move-_ “  
  
Red toppled forward, as some of the boxes fell onto the ground. They collapsed into the snow with a loud _thud_ echoing into the air.  
  
Red’s fist balled. He had fallen into the snow as well, his clothing now damp and iced with flurries. Red huffed, as he continued to glare scathingly at the boxes. They were already so heavy; now, Red was going to have to reload them onto the cart if he wanted to get them moved fast enough.  
  
_‘It doesn’t matter now,’_ Red thought, a tinge of bitterness prickling on his tongue. _‘It’s too late, and I’m not even getting scraps tonight…’_  
  
He exhaled, as he forced himself to stand. Wearily, he leaned against the cart, as his eyes moved to the three boxes that had fallen.  
  
There was the sound of laughter coming back from the main tent, and Red found himself glancing back at it. He could see light from the inside, as the company members could be heard. Their voices were raucous and drunken, with the noise carrying into the cold and wintry air.  
  
Red looked away. Although it was technically Christmas, the company had still held a performance. It had finished just a few hours ago, and now the company members were celebrating the night with hot food and spiced liquor.   
  
Naturally, Red had been excluded from this.   
  
Red huffed, as he plopped down to sit on one of the boxes. At this point he didn’t see the point in trying to finish his task. No one would bother to spare him anything, and he was already in enough hot water as it was.   
  
Earlier, Red had nearly gotten his head chewed off for having been missing for too long. t hadn’t been Red’s fault, though; he had gotten distracted. He had gotten distracted, when…  
  
There was a sharp sting inside his chest, and Red’s eyes shifted. They wandered to a tree, which was barren and covered with snow.  
  
At the base of the tree, there was a mound – one where it looked as though something had been recently buried, with a small blue ball with yellow stars left on top.  
  
Red’s jaw clenched, and he looked away quickly.   
  
He remained outside for an indistinguishable amount of time. Red figured he could risk it. With the company members celebrating in their own drunken merriment, Red imagined he could possibly keep to himself for a little while. _‘They won’t notice…’_  
  
Red blinked as he looked up. Some snow was still falling, though it was light; the sky was a deep indigo, with the snowfall causing a silvery glow of illumination to fill the scenery. Had the circumstances been different, Red might of thought it was magical – but he was cold and wet, and there was a grave for some poor dog too close by.  
  
_‘I can’t wait to get away from this place…’_ Red thought, as he continued to look upward. _‘One day…’_  
  
“What are you doing out here?”  
  
Red jumped, as he nearly fell off of the box. He clutched at the sides before he turned toward the speaker: a pierrot in a clownish costume, face painted and clothing bright.  
  
Red recognized the performer immediately – Mana. However, that didn’t stop him from snapping. “What the hell are you sneaking up on people for?” he accused. “That’s _creepy!_ ”  
  
Mana smiled. “I only walked over,” he said. “You just weren’t paying attention.”  
  
Red glared, before looking away. “It’s still creepy. You’re in that clown costume too…”  
  
“Of course I am. Staying in it helps me stay in character,” Mana said. “But why are you out here? Shouldn’t you be inside with the others?”  
  
The question was asked lightly, but Red felt an irritable _pinch_ inside. He kept his gaze averted, a scowl plastered onto his face. “I had extra work to do,” Red said, words a bit stiff. Not that I care…”  
  
“What? You shouldn’t have extra work on Christmas,” Mana said. “At the very least, you should be making snow angels. Or building a snowman.”  
  
Red shrugged. “It’d just get messed up anyways,” he said. “There’s not really any point…”  
  
“Well, that’s a grim way to be,” Mana said.   
  
Red didn’t say anything. He was still looking away until he caught a shift of movement in his peripheral vision. Turning, he came face to face with Mana – who was making a ridiculous, clownish expression.  
  
“You’re not being funny,” Red deadpanned. “What are you even trying to do?”  
  
Mana discarded his funny face as he met Red’s gaze. “Figured I’d try to make you laugh a little – they say the best practice is a tough crowd.”  
  
Red scrunched up his nose, as he crossed his arms. “Well, it’s not working…”  
  
“Guess I’ll have to practice harder then,” Mana said. “But before I do that, I need to still give you something.”  
  
Red turned. He was a bit confused, and at first thought he might have heard Mana incorrectly. Huh?”  
  
Mana shifted as he pulled something from the pocket of his costume. It was a small red ball, Red realized – one that had bright yellow stars on it.  
  
Noticing the confusion on Red’s face, Mana spoke. “I used to juggle this. But I won’t anymore, since the other ball is on Allen’s grave. They were always lucky charms though,” he explained, before smiling. “I want you to have this one – for earlier.”  
  
Red tensed a little, as he recalled too easily what Mana was referring to.   
  
Finding a dog beaten to death. Burying it. Crying over it, even though Red hadn’t even known the stupid thing…  
  
Face heating up a bit, Red broke eye contact. “I don’t need anything for that.”  
  
“Oh? Then it’s for Christmas,” Mana insisted. “What kid doesn’t want a Christmas present?”  
  
Red stubbornly continued to look away, his attention focusing on the snow. “I don’t.”  
  
Mana paused. He hummed, as a thoughtful look crossed his features. “Well, how about a birthday present? You have a birthday, right?” Mana asked. “Is it far away? It can be an early gift.”  
  
Red’s eyes flickered back to Mana. Then, he looked away.  
  
Mana blinked. His gaze was somewhat contemplative before he pressed on, tone somewhat gentler. “Come on – I know you have to have a birthday.”  
  
Red’s nose scrunched up, as once more he could feel a sharp sting in his chest. “I don’t know,” Red mumbled. “I guess…I don’t know when it is…”  
  
Mana didn’t speak at first. He watched Red for a few seconds, the quiet night air encircling them. The snowfall was slowing, the flurries sparse, and within a few moments, it stopped entirely.  
  
A smile soon stretched across Mana’s face, as he pulled something else out. “You’re in luck,” Mana said. “Ta da!”  
  
Red blinked. He looked, once more becoming surprised, when he saw the next item: a deck of playing cards.  
  
“They may not seem like much, but you can do a lot with them,” Mana said, as he handed the deck to Red. “Games, magic tricks – every kid should have some!”  
  
Red stared, somewhat speechless. The first gift he had instinctually tried to brush off. He had taken it as some action of pity, rather than an actual gesture of kindness. But the second gift…  
  
Suddenly, Red found himself floundering. His normally crass demeanor fractured; he could only look at the gifts somewhat uncertainly as he struggled to find any words. “It’s not even my birthday…”  
  
“You don’t know that,” Mana clarified. “So why shouldn’t today be? It can be on Christmas – an extra special day for an extra special boy.”  
  
Hearing this, Red’s ears burned. “I-I’m not extra special or anything!” he stammered. “So, don’t say that!”  
  
Mana chuckled. “Alright – I don’t have to highlight it,” he said, smile warm as he looked at Red. “Happy birthday.”  
  
Red’s gaze wandered back to Mana, and again, he could feel the words in his chest lock up a little. It normally would have been easy for Red to snap back – to brush off such gestures and keep his guard up. But Mana was there, and he was smiling. It was the fake smile that Red was used to seeing from other people either, but something more genuine – something a little kind, and tinged with compassion.  
  
Unexpectedly, a tiny bit of warmth filled Red’s chest. It wasn’t a sensation that he was used to, and as a result, he could feel a fresh wave of emotion befalling him. Red was still stubborn though, and didn’t necessarily want Mana to see this. So, before Mana could notice, Red looked down, his attention resting on the two gifts in his hands. The first and only gifts he had ever received.  
  
“Thanks,” Red said, voice quiet.  
  
Mana smiled, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he simply walked over and sat on the snowy ground beside the box that Red was seated on.  
  
They remained outside together a little bit longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays to my anon Secret Santa! I hope you enjoyed the fic, and that it fit with what you were hoping for. <3
> 
> I sort of ended up keeping this fic close to canon, and I haven’t really ever written any Allen/Red and Mana content before. I’m glad I was finally able to do so!
> 
> Thanks to everyone for reading!


End file.
